One option left for Chad Johnson. Retire?

Though we’ve long believed that Bengals receiver Chad Johnson will huff and puff about holding out but ultimately show up for training camp, there apparently is a good chance that he will dig in his heels.

Per a league source, Johnson is serious about staying away, despite the cost.

It won’t be cheap, if that’s what Johnson chooses to do. The daily fines for holdouts exceed $14,000 per day. Also, he would be required to pay back 25 percent of his signing bonus proration for 2008, if he misses even as little as one mandatory day.

But holding out and paying the money might actually be a better outcome for Johnson than showing up. Because we can’t imagine Johnson not acting out and ultimately getting suspended four games for conduct detrimental to the team, which would end up costing him a lot more.

If the Bengals persist in their refusal to trade Johnson, his only other option is to retire. Though doing so would avoid the fines, he also would have to pay back the full amount of all remaining signing bonus proration.

Then again, he can continue to huff and puff about holding out, and he might truly intend to do it right now, but when he’s staring down that daily price tag of 14 grand, he might feel very differently about it all.